Cases & Legislation

A selection of recent Just Security articles analyzing Indigenous issues at the intersection of law, policy, climate, justice, and more.

Last month, Tribal Justice Clinic Director Heather Whiteman Runs Him filed an amicus brief on behalf of 37 tribes in support of the Navajo Nation, which has been arguing for the right to draw water from the Colorado River. The case, Arizona v. Navajo Nation, pits the treaty rights of the largest Native American reservation in the United States against water rights claims by the state in which much of the reservation is located.

While treaties between Indigenous peoples and the United States affect virtually every area in the USA, there is as yet no official list of all the treaties. The US National Archives holds 374 of the treaties, where they are known as the Ratified Indian Treaties. Here you can view them for the first time with key historic works that provide context to the agreements made and the histories of our shared lands.

Aboriginal, Native American, Indian, or Indigenous Peoples laws all generally refer to American laws relating to Native Americans, also known as American

Summary of H.R.5444 - 117th Congress (2021-2022): Truth and Healing Commission on Indian Boarding School Policies Act

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Thursday, July 28th, 2022 Contact Natalie Cook 651-295-3483 Treaty Rights, Land and Water Pollution, and Climate at Issue in Clearwater County Case BAGLEY, MN – Today a Clearwater County Judge heard arguments with far-reaching implications for Indigenous treaty rights as they relate to extractive industry, land and water pollution, and climate change. In treaties with the United States, Anishinaabe peoples retained the right to engage in spiritual and cultural activities. I

QUESTION PRESENTED Whether the Maine Indian Settlement Acts— consistent with this Court’s precedents on statutory interpretation and the Indian canons of construction— codify the historical understanding of the Penobscot,Nation, the United States, and the State that the Penobscot Reservation encompasses the Main Stem of the Penobscot River.

In the United States, persons of Native American descent occupy a unique legal position. On the one hand, they are U.S. citizens and are entitled to the same legal rights and protections under the Constitution that all other U.S. citizens enjoy. On the other hand, they are members of self-governing tribes whose existence far predates the arrival of Europeans on American shores. They are the descendants of peoples who had their own inherent rights—rights that required no validation or legitimation from the newcomers who found their way onto their soil. Read more: Native American Rights - Tribal Sovereignty, Treaty Rights, Reserved Rights Doctrine, Federal Power Over Native American Rights, Hunting And Fishing Rights - JRank Articles https://law.jrank.org/pages/8754/Native-American-Rights.html#ixzz7vNsFDj9G

One of the criticisms of the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act is that it puts a huge burden of proof on Tribes, which may not have access to the necessary records.

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA) required federal agencies and museums to (1) identify their Native American human remains and other objects, (2) try to culturally affiliate them with a present day Indian tribe or Native Hawaiian organization, and (3) repatriate them under the terms in the act. The National NAGPRA office, within the Department of the Interior's National Park Service (NPS), facilitates the government-wide implementation of NAGPRA. GAO was asked to determine, among other things, the (1) extent to which agencies have complied with their NAGPRA requirements, (2) actions taken by National NAGPRA, and (3) extent of repatriations reported by agencies. GAO reviewed records for eight key agencies with significant historical collections, surveyed agencies to obtain repatriation data, and interviewed agency, museum, and tribal officials."

Here are the updated materials in Stephen C. v. Bureau of Indian Education (D. Ariz.): 128 Third Amended Complaint 182 BIE Motion for Partial Summary J 184 Plaintiffs Motion for Partial Summary J 1…

Tribes and Native voter organizations successfully argued that a new Montana law that restricted ballot collection made it prohibitively difficult for Native voters.

Summary of H.R.1884 - 117th Congress (2021-2022): Save Oak Flat Act

The purpose of S. 1980 is to provide for the protection of Native American graves and the repatriation of Native American remains and cultural patrimony.

Summary of H.R.5510 - 116th Congress (2019-2020): PAVA Program Inclusion Act

Summary of H.R.5237 - 101st Congress (1989-1990): Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act

"Today we are asked whether the land these treaties promised remains an Indian reservation. ... Because Congress has not said otherwise, we hold the government to its word," wrote Justice Gorsuch.

Justices Rule Tribal Police Can Search Non-Natives on Reservation Roads

On Petition for Writ of Certiorari to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit

United States v. Sioux Nation of Indians

Sioux Tribe of Indians v. United States

The decision was 5-4, with Justices Gorsuch, Sonia Sotomayor, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Elena Kagan and Stephen Breyer in the majority, while Justices John Roberts, Brett Kavanaugh, Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas dissented.